Escapement mechanism



E. MIHALEK 2,77,137

ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM Filed Aug. 29, 1945 July 26, 1949.

Patented July 26, 1949 NITEDZ STATES NT OFF-l ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM one of'Illinois Application August 29, 1945, Serial No. 613,242

2 Claims. 1 2

This inventionr-elates to :escapemen't mechanisms, and more particularly to a mechanism for controlling the rotation of a wheel, r the like.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an escapement mechanism which will hold a rotatably' mounted wheel against rotation in either direction.

Another object is to provide an escapement mechanism in which the rotation of a wheel or the like is resiliently arrest-ed to absorb inertia shocks incident to stopping the wheel.

Still another object is to provide an escapement mechanism in which a tip member on an escapement lever is slidably secured to the lever and is urged in one direction thereon to yield in response to impact when the tip member engages a rotating wheel.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention .will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic partial elevation of an escapement mechanism embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a partial view similar to Figure 1, illustrating the position of the parts during initial engagement of the tip member with the wheel; and

Figure 3 is a partial side elevation of the escapement lever and tip member.

.The escapement mechanism, as illustrated, is adapted to control the rotation of a wheel or the like having a rim portion Hi connected by spokes II to a hub portion i 2. A tooth ring it is connected to the hub portion, preferably through screws I 3 extending through elongated slots in the tooth ring so that the ring can be adjusted relative to the wheel proper. It will be understood that the wheel may be a part of any desired type of device which is adapted to rotate during operation of the device and whose rotation is to be interrupted by the escapement mechanism of the invention.

The tooth ring I3 is formed throughout its periphery with notches formed with a relatively long side It and a shorter side l5, the notches terminating at their inner ends in relatively square end portions. The sides It and H: of the notches are arranged at an acute angle to radii through them, or to state it differently, they all lie tangent to a circle adjacent the periphery of the ring. With this construction, when the wheel is turning in the direction of the arrow thereon the long sides of the notches will move downwardly at the rightiside'ot-the' tooth-:ring, as seen in Figure l;

Rotation of the wheelis adapted tube arrested by a lever iii pivoted .on an'axis lllyinghelow and to the right of .the wheel; as show1r;:.= The lever. may be swung about the-piomt- H.- byj any desired type of mechanism not shown, so that its upper end will move toward and away from the tooth ring to engaged and disengaged positions. At its upper free end the lever carries a tip member as which is slidably connected to the lever for movement longitudinally thereof through slots and pins l9. A spring 2| is connected to an ear 22 at the upper end of the lever and to a pin 23 on the tip member to urge the tip member upwardly of the lever.

At its outer end the tip member terminates in a substantially square end surface 24 which is so arranged as to lie substantially flat against the long sides M of the notches when the escapement mechanism is in looking position. The tip member is cut out at one side to leave a locking tooth 25 to project into the notches between the side l4 and side l5 thereof, so that the wheel will be held against rotation in either direction.

In operation with the lever 16 rocked clockwise, the tip member 18 will be moved away from the tooth ring l3 so that the wheel can turn freely. At this time the wheel may be rotated in a clockwise direction by its operating mechanism, not shown. When the wheel has rotated to the desired extent and it is desired to interrupt its movement. the lever It will be turned counterclockwise to bring the tip member into engagement with the tooth ring. During initial engagement, the parts will occupy the position illustrated in Figure 2, in which the long side M of one of the notches engages the outer fiat end 24 of the tip member to stop rotation of the wheel. Inertia of the wheel in this position of the parts will cause the tip member to slide down on the lever extending the spring 2|. Thus, the rotation of the wheel will be resiliently opposed so that the impact incident to stopping it will be gradually and smoothly absorbed to bring the wheel to a smooth stop without shock. By the time the rotation of the wheel has been arrested, the tip member will move into the full engaged position shown in Figure 1, in which the tooth portion 25 is fully engaged in the notch in the tooth member. As the spring 2| contracts to urge the tip member upwardly of the lever, the tooth 25 will engage the short side l5 of the notch to prevent the wheel from turning backwards. The wheel will, therefore, be brought very quickly to rest and will be held in the desired position until the lever I6 is again swung to a position to free it.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be understood that it is illustrative only and is not intended to be a definition oi the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An escapement mechanism comprising a rotatable wheel formed with an arcuate series of substantially square ended notches formed with long and short sides lying at acute angles to radii therethrough, a lever pivoted adjacent the wheel for movement toward and away from the wheel, a tip member mounted on the lever for sliding movement longitudinally thereof and having a flat outer end to engage the long sides of the notches, the tip member having a lateral projecting portion to enter the notches and engage the short sides thereof, and a spring urging the tip member outwardly of the lever.

2. An escapement mechanism comprising a rotatable wheel formed with an arcuate series of substantially square ended notches formed with long and short sides all of which lie tangent to a '4 circle closely adjacent to the periphery of the arcuate series of notches, a lever pivoted adjacent to the wheel for movement toward and away from the wheel, a tip member carried by the lever for movement longitudinally thereof and formed with a flat end portion to engage the longer sides of the notches and a lateral projection to enter the notches and engage the short sides thereof, and a spring urging the tip member outward of the lever.

EMERY MIHALEK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 351,519 Morrow Oct. 26, 1886 1,702,302 Joachim Feb. 19, 1929 2,158,055 Burnett May 16, 1939 2,340,769 Rast Feb. 1, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 113,583 Switzerland Jan. 16, 1926 

